Jon Gruden has made it clear he’s striving to be like the Kansas City Chiefs, on offense at least, and this draft offers the Raiders a chance to begin closing the monumental gap between these two teams.

Yes, the Raiders need more help on defense than offense, but with four picks among the first 35, general manager Mike Mayock and Gruden can afford to bolster their offense early.

But should those reinforcements come at skill positions, say, in the form of a future featured running back or a slot receiver to complement Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams, or a tight end to replace Jared Cook?

As it stands, the Raiders’ No. 1 running back is 26-year-old Isaiah Crowell. They also re-signed Jalen Richard and second-year back Chris Warren figures to factor in after missing his entire rookie season due to injury. Marshawn Lynch, who turned 33 on Monday, has yet to publicly indicate whether he plans to return or retire. Crowell ran for 685 yards and six touchdowns with the Jets last season, Richard tied for the team lead with 68 receptions and Warren showed promise in leading the NFL in preseason rushing yards.

At tight end, the Raiders currently have Darren Waller, Derek Carrier, Lee Smith and Paul Butler. Waller briefly flashed after signing with the Raiders in Week 13 last season, and Gruden has said the 26-year-old will get his chance to shine this season. Cook, who signed with the Saints in free agency, led the Raiders in receiving yards in each of the last two seasons and was the Raiders’ lone Pro Bowler last season after setting career highs in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

Given the Raiders’ situation at each of those three positions, here are five offensive skill players they might consider with picks 24, 27 or 35.

Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama

The No. 1 running back in the draft and the only one appearing in the first round of some mock drafts, Jacobs could fill the hole left if Lynch chooses to retire. Then again the Raiders like Crowell, who’s only 26 and has a career yards per carry average of 4.3. He averaged 4.8 yards per rush last season with the Jets, and the Raiders’ improved offensive line should lead to similar output. Jacobs ran for 640 yards on 5.3 yards per carry and scored 14 touchdowns last season (11 rushing, three receiving) while catching 20 passes for 247 yards.

Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma

Antonio has already campaigned for his cousin to join him on the Raiders. “Hollywood” Brown is still rehabbing from Lisfranc surgery, the same foot procedure that sidelined Donald Penn from the end of the 2017 season to the middle of 2018 training camp, but he said at the combine he’ll be good to go for rookie mini-camp. Brown caught 75 passes for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns at Oklahoma last season, and the speed that some said would’ve been the best at the combine had he participated would complement his cousin and Williams nicely alongside Derek Carr.

A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss

Brown’s college teammate, D.K. Metcalf, is getting all the pre-draft hype because of his eye-popping combine numbers and physical physique, but Brown (who granted, played five more games than Metcalf in 2018) led Ole Miss with 85 catches (59 more than Metcalf), 1,320 receiving yards (751 more than Metcalf) and six touchdown catches (one more than Metcalf). Brown ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at the combine, and he too would be a solid No. 3 that might only be a reasonable pick at No. 35.

N’Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State

Like A.J. Brown, Harry would probably be a reach in the first round. If he falls to 35 and the Raiders pluck him, though, they’d get a big, physical receiver who surprised at the combine by running a 4.53 40 given his size (6-foot-2, 228 pounds). In his final two years at Arizona State, Harry caught 155 passes for 2,230 yards and 17 touchdowns under Herm Edwards.

Noah Fant, TE, Iowa

Fant is the latter of two Iowa tight ends expected to go fairly early, with T.J. Hockenson being the first. Even sharing a field with Hockenson at Iowa, Fant caught 69 passes for 1,013 yards and 18 touchdowns the last two seasons. He’d fill the void left by Cook’s departure, and the Raiders would likely need to take him 24th, if he even makes it that far.

Matt Schneidman joined the Bay Area News Group in September 2017 to cover the Oakland Raiders. He graduated from Syracuse University in Spring 2017 and has interned with The Buffalo News, the New York Post and USA TODAY.